L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2017 www.italoamericano.org 6 SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY 2 017 could not start in a better way for Italian sci- entists in the world. On January 7, three scientists born in Italy and currently working in the United States received a delayed Christmas gift, thanks to Barack Obama. The former American President named 102 scientists and researchers to receive the 2017 PECASE, the P r e s i d e n t i a l E a r l y C a r e e r A w a r d s f o r S c i e n t i s t s a n d Engineers. Considered the highest honor bestowed by the United States G o v e r n m e n t o n s c i e n c e a n d engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent r e s e a r c h c a r e e r s , t h e a w a r d focuses on the key role that the A d m i n i s t r a t i o n p l a c e s i n encouraging and accelerating American innovation to grow economy and tackle new chal- lenges. The PECASE Awards, as stated in the White House website, recognize some of the finest scientists and engineers w h o , e a r l y i n t h e i r r e s e a r c h c a r e e r s , s h o w e x c e p t i o n a l potential for leadership at the frontiers of scientific knowledge during the twenty-first century. Among them, three young Italians - currently working in d i f f e r e n t u n i v e r s i t i e s i n t h e United States - made the short- list: Guglielmo Scovazzi, an A s s i s t a n t P r o f e s s o r a t D u k e U n i v e r s i t y , N o r t h C a r o l i n a ; Anna Grassellino, researcher at F e r m i N a t i o n a l A c c e l e r a t o r Laboratory, located just outside Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago; and Marco Pavone, an Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and A s t r o n a u t i c s a t S t a n f o r d University, California. These Awards want to foster i n n o v a t i v e a n d f a r - r e a c h i n g developments in science and technology; increase awareness of careers in science and engi- n e e r i n g , a n d h i g h l i g h t t h e importance of science and tech- nology for the nation's future. M a r c o P a v o n e r e p r e s e n t s today the Italian excellence in California, thanks to his work at Stanford University not only in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, but also in the D e p a r t m e n t o f E l e c t r i c a l Engineering and in the Institute f o r C o m p u t a t i o n a l a n d Mathematical Engineering. For being only 37, Marco has SERENA PERFETTO Stanford's Italian Researcher Marco Pavone Received the PECASE Award by Former President Obama already a long and successful c a r e e r a s s c i e n t i s t a n d more: before joining Stanford University in Palo Alto, he was a Research Technologist within the Robotics Section at JPL; r e c e i v e d a P h . D . d e g r e e i n Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2010; and he is now a Research Affiliate at the N A S A J e t P r o p u l s i o n Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology. On the other hand, Marco is also used to high level honors, as proven by the NSF CAREER Award; a NASA Early Career F a c u l t y A w a r d ; a H e l l m a n Faculty Scholar Award; and the NASA NIAC Fellow in 2011. We talked to Marco to learn more about the PECASE and his career. Marco, let's start with the award: which was your first reaction when you got to know about it? My reaction was not that strange: I was simply very excited! I feel that receiving the PECASE award is, first of all, a great honor for a scientist! Do you remember what you were doing? Of course I do! I was at work w h e n I r e c e i v e d t h e e m a i l announcing that my name was in the list of scientists awarded all o v e r t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s . Y o u were born in Turin but you spent your life in Catania. Tell us about your story around Italy... I was born in Turin, but I lived in several places in Italy due to the nature of my father's j o b . I a l s o l i v e d i n G e n o a , Rome, and L'Aquila, then last stop in Catania, Sicily, where I attended the last two years of high school and started my uni- versity studies. When did the opportunity to move to the US come? I n 2 0 0 5 , I m o v e d t o t h e University of California in Los Angeles to work on the thesis f o r m y d e g r e e a t t h e S c u o l a Superiore di Catania. One year later, when I was done with my d e g r e e s t u d i e s , I m o v e d t o Cambridge where I joined the M a s s a c h u s e t t s I n s t i t u t e o f Technology for my Ph.D. stud- i e s i n A e r o n a u t i c s a n d Astronautics. W a s i t e a s y t o m a k e t h e d e c i s i o n t o m o v e t o California? California is one of the best places in the world to work in the fields of robotics and aero- space engineering. Nevertheless, it is a beautiful place! My only complaint is that California is really far from Europe. W h a t ' s y o u r j o b a b o u t ? Can you explain it in an easy way? I am an Assistant Professor at Stanford, in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. I lead the Autonomous Systems Lab. The goal of ASL is the development of methodologies for the analysis, design, and con- t r o l o f a u t o n o m o u s s y s t e m s , with a particular emphasis on large-scale robotic networks and autonomous aerospace vehicles. To make the story short and easy to understand, I work on deci- sion-making and artificial intel- l i g e n c e a l g o r i t h m s t o m a k e robotic systems increasingly autonomous. In terms of appli- cations, I focus on space robots and self-driving cars. What do you like the most of it? I like it because it is a very d i v e r s e j o b . I s t a r t e d a s a researcher and I got to become also a teacher, a mentor, and an entrepreneur, in a very exciting field: robotics! W h a t ' s y o u r c o n n e c t i o n with Italy? Do you see a future for you in the Bel Paese? All my family is in Italy and my wife is Italian too. I do not plan to go back to Italy, but I hope to strengthen research col- laborations with Italian institu- tions in the near future. Marco Pavone is an Assistant Professor at Stanford, in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics Italian Community Services provid Bay Area Italian-American seniors and famili with trusted rourc to help them live healthy, independent and productive liv. We are commied to honoring and prerving the Italian language and culture, with an emphasis on the strength and suort that com om family, community, education and goodwill. Casa Coloniale John F. 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